About
Ptah is a Creator Neter with His religious base out of Memphis. Ptah is strongly connected to the plastic arts, architecture, and stone masonry. He is also the patron for sculptors, painters, builders, and anyone else who works with their hands. As a creator, Ptah was the most directly involved with the physical creation of the world, and the life which the world supports.
Ptah's consort is Sekhmet. The Memphite Triad consisted of Ptah, Sekhmet or Bast (depending on the time period), and Nefertem.
Ptah is sometimes seen as an abstract version of the "Self Created One", which began creation with the actions of His heart and mouth. It is also said that it was Ptah who set all of the Names in their places and gave all things the breath of life.
Ptah's name was unusual in the fact that until the New Kingdom, His name in hieroglyphs did not carry the determinitive which represented divinity. He was worshiped "universally" throughout the two lands of Egypt, as well as Nubia.
Images of Ptah can be found as early as Dynasty I. He is depicted as a man, wearing high-neck garments, a skull cap which only allowed his face and ears to be shown, and holding a Uas or Was Scepter. Through Egyptian history, Ptah's form never changes. As such, His image can be easily identified in tombs and monuments.
The Uas Scepter which Ptah holds combines two symbols, the ankh and the djed pillar. The ankh represented life, while the djed pillar represents stability.
In the "Opening of the Mouth" rite (performed on statues and the deceased), Ptah is considered to have hallowed the rite due to his first enacting the rite on the Neteru and their statues when He created them. The tool which Ptah used was a metal chisel, which also served to make the concept of His being a craftsmen Neter more prominent.
Ptah's consort is Sekhmet. The Memphite Triad consisted of Ptah, Sekhmet or Bast (depending on the time period), and Nefertem.
Ptah is sometimes seen as an abstract version of the "Self Created One", which began creation with the actions of His heart and mouth. It is also said that it was Ptah who set all of the Names in their places and gave all things the breath of life.
Ptah's name was unusual in the fact that until the New Kingdom, His name in hieroglyphs did not carry the determinitive which represented divinity. He was worshiped "universally" throughout the two lands of Egypt, as well as Nubia.
Images of Ptah can be found as early as Dynasty I. He is depicted as a man, wearing high-neck garments, a skull cap which only allowed his face and ears to be shown, and holding a Uas or Was Scepter. Through Egyptian history, Ptah's form never changes. As such, His image can be easily identified in tombs and monuments.
The Uas Scepter which Ptah holds combines two symbols, the ankh and the djed pillar. The ankh represented life, while the djed pillar represents stability.
In the "Opening of the Mouth" rite (performed on statues and the deceased), Ptah is considered to have hallowed the rite due to his first enacting the rite on the Neteru and their statues when He created them. The tool which Ptah used was a metal chisel, which also served to make the concept of His being a craftsmen Neter more prominent.
